Queensland is to get 11 new fire stations starting this year with the 2026-27 state budget to spend $1.17 billion on firefighting.
Under the newly-released 2026-27 Budget, $15 million will fund new stations at Hervey Bay, Kingaroy, Ayr, Abbot Point, Bennett, Biarra, Bondoola, Ilkley, Mount Binga, Mount Ossa and Wartburg.
The government will ramp up delivery of a new $43.4m Rural Fire Service firefighting fleet with new infrastructure repair projects including Plantation Creek Crossing and Burke Airstrip.
It will allocate $1.2m to signing up new firefighting volunteers as the government battles a 20% (or 7000) drop in numbers.
Minister for Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers Ann Leahy says: “We’re backing our firefighters with a new fleet and new fire stations, delivering the equipment they need to respond quickly, safely and effectively when communities need them most.
“Queensland is the most disaster prone and decentralised state; we need more funding, not less.”
“Volunteers are the backbone of so many communities … our funding boost will help more people to get involved and stay involved,” Leahy says.
QUEENSLAND BUDGET BREAKDOWN
The Queensland government claims the new Budget has reduced debt by $73.5 billion and is eyeing a surplus in 2029-30.
Treasurer David Janetzki described the Budget as responsible for the present and the future.
“Where other governments took the easy road through higher taxes, we chose to make the responsible decision for now and the future, with no new or increased taxes,” he says.
Queensland Finance Minister Ros Bates claims the Budget protects frontline jobs and spends on a skilled workforce.
“This Budget continues our open for business approach, supporting our exporters and providing investment certainty and stability to strengthen our economy,” he says.
“This Budget … delivers projects on time and on budget, carefully managing expense growth, putting a handbrake on the growth of senior executives with more frontline workers than ever before.”
SPENDING HIGHLIGHTS
The government will:
- Legislate for permanent 50 cent public transport fares, axe the Patient’s Tax and abolish stamp duty first buyers of new homes.
- Introduce a Fuel Security Plan to fast-track their Taroom Trough Development plans by supporting new refinery and fuel storage.
- Accelerate spending on new critical minerals projects.
- New hospitals at Toowoomba, Coomera and Bundaberg with 10 more expansions and more than 200 new beds in the next year.
- Fast-track a $2 billion Residential Activation Fund to build more homes faster.
- Spend more than $119 billion over the next four years on infrastructure such as the Bruce Highway upgrade ($9bn), a new Gold Coast Transport Plan and The Waveall the way to the Sunshine Coast Airport.
- Adding more than $1bn to social housing builds as a record $5.7bn is earmarked for 6500 new homes as part of a larger target of 53,500 new homes by 2044.
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